Showing posts with label The Strop Shoppe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Strop Shoppe. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

The Strop Shoppe Black Tie Special Edition Shave Soap

July 26, 2017 0
It’s been about a year since The Strop Shoppe closed their doors and, of course, I’m writing about the Special Edition Black Tie soap just as I’m down to the last few ounces and can’t get any more.  I suppose this post is just a means of saying goodbye to this particular soap in the den.
The Special Edition Line contained tallow.
The Strop Shoppe’s Special Edition line contained tallow, or rendered beef fat. It had a relatively soft consistency and tended to be a bit thirsty of a shaving soap.  Personally, I didn’t mind; a little more water and the soap yielded a rather thick, protective, and slick lather.  To that end, it reminded me a bit of the lather quality of an Arko Shave Stick but with a less “soapy” scent.” Just like all of their soaps, they were packaged in a plain, black and white, durable (I’ve dropped this many many times without it cracking) plastic container.   The Special Edition tubs contained 140 ml of soap.
Really like the voluminous lather it produced
The Strop Shoppe had mentioned in their product description that the air of sophisticated confidence exuded by Frank Sinatra and Humphrey Bogart were the inspiration for their Black Tie scent.  The aroma is described as having notes of pepper; leather and musk give weight to the woodiness of patchouli and the freshness of citrus.  Personally, it reminds me of a masculine cologne.  It isn’t very powerful of an aroma and I find that it washes away when rinsing it from my head and face.
Sadly, all that's left of my Special Edition Black Tie Shave Soap.  Probably 1 more shave and it's gone forever.

It was sad to see The Strop Shoppe close their doors.  But a number of quality shave soap makers have been appearing in the wet shaving community as well.  Even though I can no longer get my hands on Special Edition Black Tie, there is still a wide selection products from of shaving soaps vendors to try.  Perhaps I may stumble across a scent close to this.  Until then, my hoard of The Strop Shoppe shaving soaps will have to last.

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Friday, May 22, 2015

Shaving Shouldn’t Suck: A Little More on The Strop Shoppe

May 22, 2015 0
After graduating from the University of Oklahoma in 2007 and beginning to work towards a master’s degree in neuroscience, Kali McLennan wound up working in Information Technology.  However she missed the lab and the experience of creating something from base ingredients.
One of the First Product Photos from The Strop Shoppe
So Kali began making and selling soap.  In 2011, she discovered the wicked_edge subreddit and began working with key members in the community to develop a shaving soap.  After several months of testing and refining formulas, she finally had a soap that provided a great shave.  That product would go on to become The Strop Shoppe Original Formula that we know today.
Some of The Many Scents That The Strop Shoppe Offers

In 2012, The Strop Shoppe was born. While the company doesn’t sell strops, the name was developed to pay homage to the classic craft of wet shaving.   To use a common phrase of theirs: “Shaving Shouldn’t Suck.” The Strop Shoppe hand-crafted shaving soap is available in a number of fragrances, such as Bay Rum, Black Tie, and Teak Wood, and are designed to help one appreciate the pleasure of a shave and doesn’t leave them smelling like chemicals.  Since the company was called The Strop Shoppe, Kali had informed me that at one point the company nearly released a strop but opted against it.  Instead, the company focused on making shaving soaps. The company currently has three formulations:

Original Formula: This is the formulation that started it all.  The Strop Shoppe's Original Formula contains glycerin and is free of animal based products.  Glycerin has strong humectant and emollient properties, which helps to maintain a thick and creamy lather.  It is also a viscous liquid which helps the glide of the razor.

Original Formula Black Tie Shaving Soap
Special Edition Formula:  In a little under a year after the initial release of their Original Formula, The Strop Shoppe developed and released their Special Edition formula, which quickly began to outpace the sales of their Original Formula.  The Special Edition formulation contains tallow, or rendered beef fat, which is a traditional ingredient in many of the oldest shaving soap preparations.    
The Strop Shoppe's Special Edition Shaving Soap in the Date Night Scent
Limited Edition Formula: Not too long after the release of the Special Edition line, The Strop Shoppe unveiled their Limited Edition line;  an extra moisturizing formula with additional cocoa butter, shea butter, and tallow.   This formulation also features lanolin, a waxy substance secreted by wool-bearing animals, to help provide a smoother glide and improved protection.  As the name suggests, The Strop Shoppe Limited Edition soaps are only available for a short time. 

Two New Limited Edition Scents Recently Released: Solsetio and Peche
I asked the company if there was anything new on the horizon; anything that The Strop Shoppe fans could look forward to. I was rather pleased to hear that the company is getting ready to release two new soap fragrances and are in the final stages of developing an aftershave, called Formula 221B. This new aftershave has been in development for months and has been inspired by the company’s Baker Street scent.  So fans of the Baker Street scented soaps can look forward to a complementing aftershave fragrance with Formula 
221B.
A New Product Coming Coon ... The Strop Shoppe's Formula 221B Aftershave
Have you tried The Strop Shoppe shaving Soaps?  Feel free to leave a comment below and let us know what your favorite scent is.
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